The Frozen Chronicles: Inferno Arc
by Lloyd Redgrave
Summary: Part 1 of 5. Based in SatAM settings. Dr. Robotnik's ultimate weapon is now loose; can the Freedom Fighters stop its apocalyptic rampage, or will the inferno consume all of Mobius? Rated M due to increasing violence and some language.
1. The Great Escape

A/N - Okay, so it's been awhile since I've posted here (blame the economy...and computer viruses :P). And so, I give you the disclaimer:  
I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog: that's property of SEGA. Any OCs in this story, however, I DO own (and relish that fact almost daily...I don't own much, after all).

* * *

**Robotropolis Outskirts  
30 miles outside the city  
2311 hrs, day 313, 3226**

He was finally aware that he was moving...but how? Hadn't he been unconscious? Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around groggily: where was he?

"Good to see you're awake, Little Bro."

The younger brother noticed that he was being carried by one arm. He looked over at the older hedgehog who had said arm around his shoulders, and gave him a small smile; "Thanks, Big Bro..." he replied and yawned quietly, "where are we?" The older brother didn't answer, looking downward while moving forward as quickly as possible yet making sure his younger sibling could keep up, "...Alias?" Alias the Hedgehog blinked, then looked over at his brother with a cheesy grin.

"Outside Robotropolis, of course." he answered, the younger hedgehog – who had vibrant red fur as opposed to his own vibrant blue fur, as well as much shorter quills when compared to his long spines – gave him a broad smile, which was missing a front tooth. Alias couldn't help but feel sad for the kid: he was...what, seven? Almost eight? Nobody that age should have to go through what his brother and him had been through; _Then again,_ the blue hedgehog thought to himself bitterly, _it's not everyday that you're locked up in a cell and lined up for roboticization._ The older hedgehog looked around quickly; "You'll help keep a lookout for SWATbots, right Little Bro?" he asked, and the younger brother gave him a thumbs-up. Alias grinned, looking ahead once again.

This was turning out to be one heck of an escape...

* * *

_**The Frozen Chronicles  
****Part 1, Prologue:  
The Great Escape**_

_**

* * *

**_**The Great Forest****  
65 miles from Robotropolis  
0239 hrs, day 314, 3226**

The two hedgehogs jogged further into the forests north-northeast of Robotropolis, not spotting any robots along the way much to their relief. They had stopped near a small section of a river, and Alias was on watch; "And you, Little Bro, need to get some sleep." he had told his sibling, who acted much like any young child to a point – a single complaint, but nothing after he used his real name – before finally falling into a light sleep. And thus, the older brother sat on a rock while watching the tree line and the skies, hoping that none of those SWATbots or STEALTHbots had tracked him and young Miles here.

Miles...he found that name to be odd, as if it didn't fit the little guy as well as their father thought it would. Not that Alias really fit him that well for a name, either... _Then again, dad's parents must've been bad with names too;_ he thought to himself, _after all, who would name their kid Blank?_

Yes, Blank the Hedgehog: senior scientist and head of Dr. Robotnik's Experimental Roboticization Division, and a former colleague of Sir Charles the Hedgehog.

Alias thought that his father's work was simply for the good of Mobius at first, and lived alongside Miles within the walls of Robotropolis...blind to what was going on in the outside world. But now that he had seen those Robians – he now remembered the name used by Blank – he began to have his doubts. And once he had found out that his own brother was in line to be roboticized, not to mention himself, escaping became the only option for both of them. _But...dad wouldn't think of doing that to us;_ he thought quietly, looking downward, _...would he?_

He didn't know...part of him didn't _want_ to know...

* * *

**Robotropolis  
Main Roboticizer Chamber  
1312 hrs, day 1, 3227**

Seven weeks.

That's how long Alias and Miles had evaded capture. And for seven weeks, Dr. Ivo Robotnik had become furious with the only hedgehog that worked under his command. Unlike the infamous scientist-gone-dictator, however, Blank had stayed eerily calm throughout the ranting and raving of his superior, even going as far as to _let_ those two specimens evade SWATbot and STEALTHbot patrols through his own forms of sabotage...but not today.

Today, Robotnik stood in front of the Roboticizer, awaiting the completion of creating the first Robian of the new year, he mused to himself with the comical wiggle of his trademark orange mustache. The hedgehog, however, was an entirely different and not to mention _worse _story...

The hissing of gears and hydraulics working could be heard within the chamber, the massive machine in the center of the room operating as it was intended. Blank pounded his fist against the thick glass and shouted something, although the noise was almost nonexistent on the evil scientist's much safer side of the glass, before he was engulfed by a thick cloud of what appeared to be smoke. Pulses of light could be seen from inside the Roboticizer, then...silence: the gears stopped moving, the lights faded into nothingness, and the smoke simply hung inside the glass tube. Another hiss of escaping steam filled the void as the glass tube opened up and the smoke rolled away from its prison.

And where Blank had once stood, a Robian had taken his place: his vibrant blue fur was now a dull sapphire, and flesh, muscle, and bone were now metal plating, servos, and hydraulics. Robotnik grinned in his usual evil way; _The strength of a machine, the mind of a genius, and the will of a worker ant._ He silently reveled in his own genius.

"_Awaiting orders, Doctor."_ Blank's synthesized voice grated, and Ivo nodded to himself in approval of his work.

"Find specimens H-102 and H-103, and bring them back here." he ordered sternly, and the Robian hedgehog gave Robotnik a silent salute before walking away to fulfill his task. The scientist rubbed his mustache in thought: It was no blunder that he had allowed the mecha-hedgehog to keep its mind...not only did it hold the known locations where those specimens were hiding, but the hedgehog could possibly _convince_ those two to return without a fight. Normally he wouldn't be so reserved with reclaiming a specimen or two, but this was a much different case.

_He _will_ complete his task, _he concluded,_ and when he has...then it's off to cryo-stasis for him._

_

* * *

_**The Great Forest  
120 miles from Robotropolis  
2205 hrs, day 1, 3227**

Over the seven weeks that Alias and Miles had been surviving in the wilderness, the older had taught the younger as much as he could about self-defense...not that it amounted to much, but it would help in an emergency. And the older hedgehog sorely wished that he knew and could teach his "Little Bro" more, but his own training had just been the basics. He wondered if that was his father's plan in the first place: keep the kids weak to experiment on them later and without resistance. _No, it _can't_ be him that's doing this, _he silently tried to convince himself, _it's gotta be that Robotnik guy whose doing this._

Again, he found himself taking up the first watch – Miles refusing to let him stay up the entire night by himself – and looked around at the crude camping spot they had made. There was only a ledge of stone and earth to cover their heads if a storm just happened to roll on through, but they extended the space using branches and felled logs as a makeshift roof, giving it the appearance that one might find a cave under said ledge. The fire pit in the center of their camping spot glowed dimly, Miles watching the embers slowly die out from where he was "sleeping." Alias knew that staying here for too long would be like asking for a SWATbot or STEALTHbot patrol to find them, but they needed to find Knothole. The blue hedgehog walked over to where his crude sleeping bag was, and looked over at his still awake sibling.

"Can't sleep, Little Bro?" he asked, and Miles blinked before looking up from the fire and shrugging.

"Not really..." he trailed off, looking into the fire again, then back at Alias; "Tell me again about Knothole, Big Bro! Please?" the older brother snorted in amusement: he _really_ got a kick outta those stories that their dad used to tell him, didn't he? _Well, can't deny the kid._ He concluded with a grin.

"Well," he started while looking up at the sky, the giant trees blocking out chunks of the view, "I heard that they've got houses in the trees there: we're talking _huge_ ones, buddy!" he used his full arm span to represent this, "And they've got the world's best chili-dogs there too, with all the fixin's!" he shuffled over to Miles' side of the fire and leaned in close as if whispering a secret, "And I hear that they even have the Royal Family there." the younger hedgehog looked at Alias with a disbelieving expression on his visage, one that only someone his age could pull off.

"No way!" he said with wonder evident in his voice, and Alias nodded.

"Way." he replied, looking out into the forest again; "The trick is findin' it: they made a secret entrance that only the people livin' there know of," he explained, "but I'm pretty sure we're close..." he rubbed his stomach as it growled, and he sighed quietly, "I can almost taste those chili-dogs now." he licked his lips at the thought of real food, and Miles couldn't help but drool at the thought either.

"So how close do ya think we are?" he asked the older hedgehog, who opened his mouth to answer...

There was a rustling beyond the trees. Alias motioned for his brother to stay quiet, who nodded silently; the blue hedgehog slowly moved a bit closer and peered into the endless sea of trees. His eyes widened as he saw the movement from the corner of his eye, just beyond the tree line. He was about to warn his brother when a Robian jumped out from behind a tree and tackled into Alias, sending the opponents tumbling around.

"Miles: get out of here!" he shouted as he saw another appear from behind cover, and the younger sibling looked like he was going to protest. The older hedgehog managed to toss the attacker to the side and got up in a defensive stance; "Don't argue, just _run!_" he ordered, leaping at the Robian head-on and tackling it into the tree behind it.

And so he ran...

Alias finished bashing the robotic head of his enemy into the tree trunk, and faced the other Robian who was simply waiting for him to stop; "Alright:" he growled while cracking his knuckles, "bring it on!"

* * *

A/N - Well, what'dya ladies and gents think? Let me know!


	2. The Betrayal

A/N - Alright, here's the official first chapter; read and enjoy!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of it's characters...that's SEGA's property. But the OC's are mine! :D

* * *

**The Great Forest  
10 miles from the fight  
2219 hrs, day 1, 3227**

Miles was tired of running, especially since he was barefoot. And when he was barefoot...

THUD!

...he constantly tripped over himself at high enough speeds. Like he did just now. Grumbling and favoring a bruise on his chin, he looked back to where he knew Big Bro was fighting those robots; _I wonder if he'll be alright..._ he thought at first, dismissing the idea quickly, _well, he knows how to defend himself better than me...he'll be fine._ Shaking his head quickly to banish any image of an injured or – even worse, _dead_ – older brother, he continued running.

* * *

_**The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 1:  
The Betrayal**_

* * *

**The Great Forest  
at the scene of the fight  
2207 hrs, day 1, 3227**

The Robian – formerly a teenage wolf – answered his challenge with a synthesized growl, and the two charged; the hedgehog feinted right and landed a kick to the Robian's back, causing it to stumble forward. Jumping into the air and curling into a spinning ball of spines, Alias slammed into his off-balance opponent and sliced it into two clean halves, three more replacing the fallen robot. The blue hedgehog scoffed at his new opponents and charged again, dodging the flurry of claw swipes directed at him with relative ease: first a swipe for his gut, then two aimed at his left side, and two more swipes at his legs which he jumped over while kicking at the attacker – a chameleon Robian – and connecting with it's jaw. The kick hurt him more than the robot, but it sent the chameleon stumbling backwards; Alias jumped over the Robian and sprinted for the tree a ways behind it, running up the trunk and curling into a spinning ball of spines once again after pushing off the tree with his legs...

And sliced through two of the three Robians, one being the chameleon and the other a fox..._wait, make that a coyote: the ears are bigger._ He noted while facing the last robot, only to be surrounded by a mob of roboticized Mobians and SWATbots, two of the Robians grabbing Alias by the arms before he could try to escape while the rest of the mob aimed various blasters at him. The hedgehog struggled to free himself from the iron grips of the two holding him and failed, finally watching a group of SWATbots move to either side as a lone Robian hedgehog entered the circle: it had dark sapphire plating which was its fur at one point and, unlike the rest of its body, its eyes were still the ones it was born with as a Mobian. The metal hedgehog stared at the captured specimen with its icy green eyes, which seemed strangely familiar to Alias. _Wait a second..._ he thought quietly, his own eyes narrowing in scrutiny before widening; _It can't be..._

"F-father?" the young hedgehog stammered, while the Robian simply stared in silence with a single nod in confirmation. Alias looked away in confusion, then back at the Robian hedgehog; "But...why are you doing this? Why are you trying to hurt me?" he asked with increasing anger, "What about Miles? HUH!?" The mecha-hedgehog shrugged its shoulders.

"I'm trying to make you two stronger." it answered simply; the captured hedgehog looked away, silence pervading the part of the forest they were in. _...Stronger?_ He thought to himself; "Only through these hardships will you become strong." the mecha-hedgehog explained as it ordered the two Robians holding their captive to let go with a wave of its clawed hand and they obeyed, the young hedgehog to deep in thought to try running at the moment, "I'm simply trying to help you, Alias...young Miles, too." Alias looked up at the Robian.

"I...think I understand." he muttered, and the mecha-hedgehog grinned.

"Good. Now," it held out a syringe in its right hand, and the young hedgehog took it, "bring Miles to Robotropolis: that is where you both will become strong." With a nod, Alias left in search of his younger sibling.

* * *

**The Great Forest  
25 miles from the fight**  
**2221 hrs, day 1, 3227**

Alias' visage was what you could call "blank," but only because he was focused on what had happened just minutes ago. Yes, he had dealt with some of the Robians but had been overpowered in the end, and they didn't just kill him outright as he knew they wouldn't: he was one of Robotnik's specimens, after all, and a dead specimen is a useless one. However, he did not expect to see his father not only among them, but leading the Robians.

And just like he had admitted in the end, he _did_ understand. The more he went over his father's words, the more sense they made to him; _And he said that he wanted to help Miles too,_ he thought to himself, _so I guess I can trust dad._ He pushed aside some of the brush in his way, finding said younger brother looking at him in fear for a split second before giving him a grin.

"Hey Big Bro: what took ya so long?" he asked innocently, and Alias looked away briefly. Should he say anything about his confrontation with their father? "Big Bro?" Miles asked again, and the older hedgehog blinked before giving his usual cheesy grin.

"Eh, nothin' too big," he replied while brushing his gloves off in mock boredom, "just a lot of robots." His younger sibling perked up, and Alias knew he had the kid hooked with his over-exaggeration.

"How many of 'em?" the younger hedgehog asked, and the older brother looked upward in thought while counting with his fingertips.

"Oh, I don't know...probably twenty of 'em at _least._" Miles grinned in that innocent way of his, showing a gap where a tooth had once been.

"Twenty?!" he said, shocked and in disbelief, "No way!" Alias grinned.

"Way." He ruffled the top of his little brother's head, earning a grumble out of embarrassment; "C'mon," he said while pointing not north, but _south_, "I think Knothole is this way..." the two brothers began walking in that direction, the younger unaware of what was actually in store for him.

* * *

**The Great Forest  
1 mile from Robotropolis' outskirts  
1531 hrs, day 2, 3227**

"Are you _sure _we're going the right way, Big Bro?" Miles asked for the third time since they had continued their trek and after taking a break a bit before midnight (which was probably why the younger sibling had grumbled such three times already). Alias looked over at the younger hedgehog and shook his head with a grin.

"Positive." he reassured the younger sibling, who shrugged his shoulders but didn't look satisfied with the answer. Out of the kid's view (namely, in Alias' left hand), the blue hedgehog fiddled around with a lone syringe filled with a bright yellow serum: a tranquilizer. He wished he didn't have to use it, but he knew that Miles would rather die than go back to Robotropolis, so there was no choice. Said younger brother looked around at his surroundings yet again, and his brow furrowed.

"Didn't we use that clearing back when we first escaped?" he wondered out loud while pointing to his right, and Alias made sure to wince with his left eye and not the right: should've picked a better route...

"...Huh: doesn't look familiar to me..." he lied as his brother looked closer at the clearing.

"No, we _were _here, see? There's the fire pit we dug." he pointed at the mound of dirt that had been the fire pit; "Why are we backtr—" he didn't get to finish his question as Alias stuck the needle into Miles' neck and pressed the plunger, the tranquilizer taking effect quickly as the younger hedgehog started to fall like a rag doll. The blue hedgehog caught him before he hit the ground.

"Sorry 'bout that, Little Bro;" he apologized to the unconscious hedgehog, "it'll hurt a bit, but you'll be stronger because of it." he smiled at his brother, picking him up and carrying him the rest of the way to Robotropolis.

Meanwhile, a certain Robian hedgehog watched the older brother carrying his sibling, and grinned maliciously.

**

* * *

Robotropolis Roboticization Factory  
Third Block, Holding Cells  
0945 hrs, day 3, 3227**

Miles felt groggy again as he woke up, uncertain as to where he was for the third time in his life. He looked around and noticed the steel bars and metal walls that caged him in like an animal; _I'm...back in Robotropolis?_ He asked himself, _But how?_ He couldn't remember for the life of him...

"Monsieur, psst! Over here!"

The red furred hedgehog looked into the cell opposite of him, spotting a young coyote with battered boots and a tattered blue jacket, which looked like a soldier's uniform. He moved closer to the bars; "Did you get caught by Robotnik's robots too?" he asked, and even though the answer was obvious, the coyote nodded his head.

"Oui, Monsieur, oui! What eez yeur name?" the coyote asked in return, and – after running the sentence over in his head a few times to figure out that "eez" was "is," and "yeur" was "your" – the hedgehog would've shook his hand if it wasn't for the ten plus feet separating them: _That's what adults do to greet each other, right?_ He couldn't help but think.

"Miles." he answered, "How about you: what's your name?" the coyote backed up a little bit, and bowed.

"Antoine D'Coolette, guarde to her Royal Highness." Antoine answered, and Miles nodded before looking around again.

"Have you seen a blue hedgehog in any of these cells?" he asked the uniformed coyote, "Long spines, smiles a lot...?" his new friend shook his head silently.

"No, Monsieur..." he replied while hanging his head low, and Miles shrugged his shoulders.

"It's alright: I'm pretty sure he'll break us out of here...I hope..." he trailed off, and the metal doors leading outside the holding cell block opened as a Robian – a wolf by the look of it – walked inside, setting food trays down within the two kids' reach. The red hedgehog looked at the slop that was splattered onto the tray haphazardly, and he felt his stomach lurch in foreboding: this didn't _look_ like food at all...or even remotely appetizing. Antoine seemed to think so too, making a disgusted sound at the sight of the slop. With a sigh, Miles curled up on the cold bench inside his cell, and tried to sleep with hunger gnawing at his gut.

It was hours later – though it seemed like only minutes – when...

"Sucre bleu! Unhand me, yeu monster!"

The hedgehog jolted out of his light sleep to find that Antoine's cell was wide open, but he was being carried out by the arms, said arms being held in the death grip of two SWATbots. The coyote was kicking at the air, and sadly failed to free himself from his oppressors' grips. Miles rushed up to the steel bars of his own cell, futilely reaching out with one hand through the bars as Antoine went past the doorway.

The slam of the metal door was the sledgehammer that shattered most of the young hedgehog's hope.

Again he curled up into a tight ball, but this time foregoing the bench.

* * *

A/N - Yeah, I know...I just rid the world of Ant...(don't kill me!) Anyways, tell me what ya'll think!


	3. From Miles to Frost

A/N - Hooray for posting two chapters in one sitting! Here y'all go. :D  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog...that is property of SEGA. Dibs on the OCs though!

**

* * *

Robotropolis Roboticization Factory  
Third Block, Facility #542  
0753 hrs, day 4, 3227**

He woke up to the sound of the metal door opening, followed by three sets of footsteps. Sitting up from sleeping on the floor for twelve hours, he saw that two of the three sources of footsteps were heavy sounding, like a SWATbot's feet. The third set belonged to a gray furred fox wearing a white lab coat, who stopped in front of Miles' cell and opened it, pushing his square-rimmed glasses back to what must have been their original position with a frown. The hedgehog looked at him with a confused face.

_...Uncle Argus?_ He thought, more horrified of the SWATbots behind him than he.

"Specimen H-102..." Argus stated in a barely shaky voice and with a sad, defeated look in his red eyes, "codenamed Frost."

_...Frost? _He didn't understand this: why didn't the fox use his real name? Miles then noticed the microphone attached to Argus' coat; _Maybe that's why..._ he pondered, before he was jarred from his thoughts by the two SWATbots picking him up by the arms, much like they had with Antoine.

"I'm sorry, Miles..." the fox mouthed quietly, and the hedgehog stared at him with a terrified look on his face as he was carried away to the Roboticizer.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 2:  
From Miles to Frost**_

* * *

Only when the young hedgehog saw the Roboticizer for the first time in his life did he actually start struggling to break free from the two SWATbots holding him. His efforts were futile in the end, since mechanical grips were the most merciless of any grip known to Humankind, or Mobiankind in this case. Argus watched as the hedgehog was thrown unceremoniously in the center of the infamous machine, the glass tube lowering and locking in place just before Miles – _Frost,_ he had to tell himself – stood up; the young Mobian pounded his fists against the glass with no effect at all, shouting something that could only be heard by those inside the tube. The gray fox sighed and shook his head with remorse. _I hope you can forgive me for this someday..._

"Begin the Roboticization process." he muttered into the microphone attached to his coat, and the machine filled with thick smoke.

* * *

Miles watched the thick smoke spilling from the vents built into the top of the Roboticizer, then looked back through the glass and pounded his fist against said glass again.

"Please! Get me _out of here!_" he shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one answered his cries; he didn't notice his feet and legs changing from their organic forms to a much more mechanical look. He did notice, however, that something was happening to him once the change started taking place in his hands: they still felt warm, but it was that warm feeling that only came from being too cold, along with that stinging sensation that made him wince. Nonetheless, he continued to try breaking out of the machine that held him captive; he brought his fist up and punched the glass...

The glass _cracked_, the spider-web left behind nothing to gawk at as far as size goes, but it gave the hedgehog a bit more hope. The roboticization had reached near the top of his arms at this point, and he punched the glass again...forming a much larger spider-web of cracks and splits in the barrier between him and potential freedom. The third punch broke _through_, warnings and sirens finally cascading into the previously soundless space (save for his own voice), and Miles pulled and pried away at the glass as he heard the vents above him closing and shutting down before stumbling out of the Roboticizer. Without looking for the way out, he bolted for the nearest door and shoved it open with both hands – which he noticed had razor sharp fingertips now – causing the door to buckle while swinging inward. And so he ran...

What else could he do _but_ run?

* * *

Argus stared at the damaged Roboticizer in what looked like disbelief, but was actually relief mixed with disbelief: he was in shock over the show of how strong roboticized limbs could potentially be – which all depended on the Mobian used in the process – and relieved that Miles (_Frost..._) had broken free. _If he can stay hidden for long enough,_ he pondered while looking at the monitors to his side and logging the data with a shaky writing hand, _then he has a good chance of escaping this damned city._ Yes, he personally hated being surrounded by robots every hour of the day...as well as being stuck as Dr. Robotnik's only scientist to experiment on his own kind...but there was nothing he could do about it. He doubted that the scientist-gone-dictator would let him live for failing this time, but he had come to terms with that a _long_ before.

"_Argus: what is going on over there? Respond!"_ he heard the voice of Robotnik spill forth from the speaker mounted next to the computers, and he switched his mic's frequency to match the main channel.

"...Specimen H-102 has escaped." he informed the doctor, who was most likely turning red out of anger right...about...

"_He WHAT!?"_

...now.

"He managed to break out of the Roboticizer during the procedure." Argus explained, a satisfied smile on his face that was well hidden from the doctor.

"_Then you know what this means, Argus..."_ Robotnik spoke ominously, and the fox felt a shiver run down his spine involuntarily as his smile faded: he knew _exactly_ what he meant...the fate of a traitor.

Roboticization.

* * *

**Robotropolis Roboticization Factory  
Third Block, Facility #537  
0857 hrs, day 4, 3227**

Miles stopped running finally, and crawled into the small air duct just as a SWATbot walked past. As the metal footsteps passed by and faded into the distance, the young hedgehog let his hand fall from covering his mouth – he had no idea when he had covered his mouth in the first place, but wasn't one to argue – before putting the grating he had hastily removed back into place. He just sat inside that air duct, silent yet shaking from both the adrenaline rush of being chased by robots and the slightly ebbing terror of going through such a traumatizing event. Fatigue began to settle over him, and he curled into a ball.

He wasn't Miles...not anymore. _He_ was a full-blooded Mobian. Instead, a much newer name was adopted.

Where Miles had died, Frost had been born.

* * *

A/N - As always, reviews are golden!


	4. Enter, Freedom Fighters

A/N - This is a fairly short chapter in my opinion, but I hope ya'll enjoy!  
...and no, I still don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters. The OCs are mine, but that's only...what: three, four Mobians at the most? Bah, such is life...

**

* * *

Robotropolis Roboticization Factory  
Third Block, Facility #17  
1111 hrs, day 13, 3227**

"Good luck, Miles...you'll need every bit of it..."

Frost opened his eyes and blinked, hearing a pair of metallic footfalls in the hallway that he was hidden from. He could've sworn that he heard someone talking to him..._Big Bro, maybe?_ He wasn't sure. The hedgehog sat up slowly and yawned silently while scratching the back of his right ear: how long had he been hiding from those SWATbots again...eight, nine days? _It doesn't matter,_ he grumbled to himself while placing his free – not to mention robotic – hand over his stomach as it gave a low growl; _I need to find some food and fast._

Crawling over to where the grating showed a part of the hallway and waiting for the SWATbot patrol to move on, he removed the grating with a quick push that slid the screws out of their places – he found his robotic arms to be more of a blessing of a curse (the same went for his robotic legs as well), but he hated this place and those chambers that the other animals were stuck in (himself included). He quietly crawled out of the air duct and left the metal cover on the ground, running as fast as possible down the clear hallway and quickly gaining speed.

Frost was quick by any hedgehog's standards, but whenever he hit a certain speed – like the one he was running at just about now, he noticed as he rounded a corner to the right and sped down the hallway that was leading towards a bright light – he tended to trip over himself within two to three seconds – just like he was now, he noted with a sense of irony as his left foot tripped over his right and he skidded face-first on the metal floor a few yards...

...and stopped right in front of one of the SWATbots, which noticed him.

Frost swallowed the lump in his throat. _Not good..._ He though to himself with a wince;his eyes shut even tighter as he waited for the inevitable laser beam – or worse, a tranquilizer dart – and jumped backwards reflexively, away from the sizzling sound of the laser before bolting forward again and around the next corner; stopping to take a breath and allow his frantic heartbeat to slow only after finding a hiding place behind a metal crate, he peeked around the corner.

The sirens were wailing, but nothing was following him..._Whew!_ He wiped the sweat on his forehead away, _that was a close one... _With a relieved smile he darted around crates and boxes, finally finding himself outside the oppressive steel-forged walls of Robotropolis; Frost took a deep breath of somewhat fresher air. _Ah, that's the stuff. _He thought with a cheesy grin similar to his older brother's, and began his running and, occasionally, tripping spree in the only direction he could think of: _away._

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 3:  
Enter, Freedom Fighters**_

* * *

**The Great Forest  
55 miles from Robotropolis  
1217 hrs, day 13, 3227**

He hadn't thought of whether "away" would lead him towards any villages, however; _Big Bro said something about finding Knothole..._ he thought to himself, wondering which way the hidden village would be. Eventually he stopped his sprinting-and-tripping-spree after - even though he could see that the sun had reached its pinnacle in the sky, and the gigantic trees didn't help when he looked upward at the sky to find such out - the young hedgehog. He found a space under one of the enormous dead trees' roots and after setting up a spot for a small fire (which he finally lit after a few tries with rubbing two sticks together), grabbing a giant leaf and cleaning it off, cleared away a spot to rest for a bit and didn't hesitate to enjoy said sleep using the leaf as a crude blanket.

It wasn't too long before...

"This is where the smoke was coming from..."

Frost sat up and looked around, adrenaline starting to pump through his veins, but he calmed himself down once he saw the unknown voice's owner: a non-roboticized hedgehog, not unlike himself (save for the non-roboticized bit to a point), but with blue fur, green eyes, white gloves, and red sneakers with a single white strip running across the middle of the shoe. He held a hand out to Frost – the other one occupied with a backpack – with a smile on his face.

"You okay?" he asked, and the escapee grabbed the hand offered to him and was helped out from under the tree's roots. The red hedgehog nodded silently in agreement, and the other Mobian's grin grew; "I'm Sonic:" he introduced himself, "what's your name?" the red hedgehog gave Sonic a small smile.

"Frost." He answered simply, and the blue hedgehog nodded while pressing a button on his wrist watch; well, it _looked_ like a wrist watch...

"Hey Sal: I just found a refugee from Robotropolis." He explained into his communicator, and a female voice picked up on the other end.

"_Got it; let them have your communicator." _She spoke and Sonic nodded despite the lack of video connection, handing the communicator over to Frost; he strapped it around his wrist and tested it...

"...Hello?" He heard faint static on the other end, then...

"_I hear you loud and clear: I'm Sally."_ The girl on the other end greeted, and Frost scratched the back of his ear reflexively – he didn't know when it became a reflex for him, but it had somewhere down the road.

"I'm Frost." He answered, "So you'll be leading me...?" Sally caught on quickly.

"_I'll direct you to Knothole: Sonic here has to plant a couple of bombs in Robotropolis,"_ Sally explained while the blue hedgehog gave him a thumbs-up with a grin and a wink,_ "so he'll be back at Knothole in a few minutes."_ The red hedgehog nodded in agreement.

"Okay." He replied, then looked over at Sonic; "You'll be alright without this?" the blue hedgehog fished an extra communicator out of his backpack, grinned and nodded.

"Think you can get to Knothole before me?" he asked, and Frost grinned and nodded; _I just hope I don't trip _too_ much. _He thought to himself before following Sally's instructions and running to the only safe haven known to him.

* * *

A/N - Well, reviews are the proverbial nirvana-inducers of writer-dom!


	5. New Friends, New Life

A/N - Hooray for posting two chapters in a night!  
...anyways, the disclaimer is still the same: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog...

**

* * *

The Great Forest  
A short distance from Knothole  
1301 hrs, day 13, 3227**

"_Okay, turn left here."_

Frost nodded despite the lack of a monitor with a frown as he tripped yet again on another root and landed with an audible grunt; "Am I almost there yet, Sal?" he asked while picking himself up off the ground and favoring a small bruise on his jaw.

"_Almost: head through the bushes to your right." _Sally instructed and he followed them to the letter, finding the underbrush and walking through it...

...and tripping down a tree trunk slide the next second, landing in a large pile of hay face first. With a groan, the red hedgehog picked himself up and spit out the errant straws of hay that managed to find their way into his mouth; _That's the last time I'll do _that_ again..._ he thought to himself before looking around.

Most of Knothole's housing was in the treetops, blending in and blended with nature as best as the builders could, but the rest sat on the earth as any other house. The air around here was much cleaner than it was at Robotropolis, and it seemed...calmer, despite the chaotic world outside. There wasn't much of a population here to fill said houses, though: Robotnik had caught everyone by surprise with this coup of his, after all.

All but one of the few people who came to greet him were the same relative age as him: one of them a squirrel who wore a blue vest and matching boots, a two-tailed "kitsune", if he remembered the term correctly – who was the youngest of the trio, somewhere around two he guessed – and a walrus who wore a simple brown jacket.

"So you're Frost?" the squirrel spoke up and smiled, "It's good to meet face to face finally." Frost managed to pull out the last straw stuck in his fur and flashed a grin.

"Good to meet you too, Sal." He said, shaking her hand before looking over at the other two and extending a hand; "What're your guys' names?" he asked simply, and they both beamed a smile at the newcomer.

"I'm Tails!" the kitsune piped up while shaking Frost's hand, the walrus mimicking the gesture.

"And I'm Rotor." The walrus greeted before scrutinizing the hedgehog's robotic hand for a moment; "Hmm..." he mumbled to himself, Frost raising an eyebrow in curiosity: what was this guy looking for? Rotor looked down at the red hedgehog's "bare" metal feet, snapping his fingers a few seconds later; "You can run fast, right?" he asked, and the hedgehog nodded.

"Yeah, but I have a knack for tripping over my feet..." he admitted while wiggling his metal toes, and Rotor nodded with the glimmer of an idea in his eyes.

"Meet me at the workshop over there in a couple of hours." The walrus pointed behind himself at a semi-shabby house – that had been expanded upon by the looks of it – before walking over there and inside.

"You can go ahead and find a house to stay in when you're ready." Sally offered to the red-furred hedgehog, who thought it sounded like a good idea; "Tails: could you show him around?" the two-tailed fox nodded with a child's grin and led the way.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 4:  
New Friends, New Life**_

**

* * *

Knothole Village  
Half a mile from the entrance  
1346 hrs, day 13, 3227**

The hedgehog looked around at the different buildings that Tails had pointed out to him a short time ago, each one as simple in appearance as the next, hoping to find some sort of food to stop the continuous growling of his stomach and so far coming up with nothing; the kitsune _had _pointed it out to him earlier, but he was still getting used to the winding nature of Knothole's paths. And passing the small vegetable garden right next to the river that ran through the village didn't help his hunger, either. His gut rumbled once again at the thought of food; _Would you just hang on for a second?_ He thought to himself, pleading his stomach jokingly, _I'm tryin' to find some food: honest!_

"Back from the mission already, sugah-hog?" Frost heard behind him, and he turned around slowly with a muttered "huh?", finding a yellow furred rabbit. She was partly roboticized like him, but only her body from the waist downward along with her left arm; "Oh! Ah'm sorry, sugah...Ah thought ya'll were Sonic for a second." the rabbit apologized once she noticed the hedgehog's red fur and roboticized limbs, and Frost scratched the back of his head with a smile.

"It's okay." he replied, even though it came out as "s'okay", and was about to say something...

"Hey Bunnie, hurry up! Sonic's back!" they both heard Tails shout, undoubtedly on his way to greet the blue blur; the rabbit – _Bunnie, was it?_ Frost thought to himself – started to head in the direction in the kitsune, stopping and looking back at him for a moment.

"Aren't ya'll coming with?" she asked, and he was about to nod when his stomach betrayed him with yet another growl. _Stupid stomach..._ he cursed mentally while instinctively sniffing the air and catching the smell of food.

"I'll catch up later; I gotta get somethin' to eat." he explained while waving goodbye and following the scent of – yes, you guessed right – chili-dogs.

**

* * *

Robotropolis  
Main Command Center  
1928 hrs, day 13, 3227**

The scientist-gone-dictator had made sure to watch the Roboticization of Argus, making certain that he had a Neuro-scrambler installed into his newly roboticized brain in order to further suppress his intellect; the fox was on par with Blank as it was. _And there is no reason for that level of intelligence in a mere proverbial worker ant...not in _my_ empire,_ the dictator concluded with a grunt in approval with his own decision.

Of course, that had been hours ago.

Now though, Dr. Ivo Robotnik sat in front of his gargantuan computer, reading the lab results of a certain specimen: not H-102, since he had finally managed to escape the clutches of Robotropolis. Rather, it was H-103 he was interested in. The doctor's trademark evil grin formed on his face; _Finding the escapee should prove to be a challenging first assignment for H-103,_ he planned quietly while looking over the files, _but that time is not now..._ he glared at the one little flaw in the results: yes, the experiment had been a success, but at the cost of H-103 becoming much less stable mentally. Thus, he had to be put into cryo-stasis until the specimen's mind re-stabilized itself. _I will bide my time for the moment with this one..._ he made the decision final in his mind with a wiggle of his long orange mustache – in a rather comical way – as his roboticized hand clenched into a fist unconsciously.

And when the day arrived, it would spell the doom of both those wretched Freedom Fighters and that _blasted_ Sonic the Hedgehog.

**

* * *

Knothole Village  
Frost's house  
2239 hrs, day 13, 3227**

Frost walked outside of the small house built right next to a fairly giant tree – though it was not the largest, it dwarfed most – and, after climbing the wooden staircase that led to the treetops and finding a nice sturdy branch to sit on, looked up and stared at the stars; he had tried to get some sleep but spent half the night so far tossing and turning in the blankets. Once the chilled night time air brushed past him, his nerves – which had forced his first two meals outside of captivity to be small, but it was the best food he had eaten in what felt like ages – finally began to settle...barely: recounting what he could earlier that day to Sonic, Sally, and the other Freedom Fighters (as they called themselves, and he was more than welcome to be a part of the group according to them to boot), it finally registered in his mind that this had been his second time inside Robotropolis, and he had almost died this time...

But he didn't die. He had _lived._ He knew that his instincts and legs had done most of the work, but he joked that it was just because it was his birthday. _Talk about an oxymoron: born on the 13__th_ _but I've got good luck, _he commented to himself before he heard a tree branch creak, interrupting his thought as he turned to look...

He felt something poke the back of his head lightly, making him turn his head the other way a bit as he placed his hand over the spot, grabbing the offending object and bringing it to plain view: a brilliant cyan gem that glimmered calmly in the moonlight. _What the heck...?_ He couldn't help but wonder.

"Oh! Ah didn't know ya'll would be here, sugah!"

He heard the voice with a heavy southern accent coming from his right, so he hastily stuffed the gem in his new metal shoes, namely the left shoe; he'd have to take a better look at it later. The hedgehog looked to the right and saw that rabbit he had run into earlier this afternoon, foregoing the staircase and simply climbing up the branches. The hedgehog smiled, looked away, and scratched the back of his right ear; he'd never been called "sugah" by anyone in his life, so he had no clue how to react to it.

"I just needed to get some air..." he explained as the rabbit sat down next to him on the tree branch and swung her metal legs back and forth while looking at the stars; "How about you?" he asked, and the girl looked over at him. Her left ear flopped downward, almost covering up her green eyes.

"Me? Ah just couldn't resist a clear night like this." She replied and looked back up to the sky, and Frost found himself doing so. The first thing he noticed was the moon: it wasn't the largest moon out there, but its brightness on this night was a bit more than usual. The rabbit apparently noticed too with a gasp; "That's the brightest Ah've ever seen the moon shine!" she exclaimed, looking over at the hedgehog, "How about ya'll, sugah?" the boy looked down for a moment.

"To be honest, I can't remember the last time I saw the moon." He admitted, and it was true: the only time he had bothered to look upward was to make sure none of Robotnik's flying robots were stalking him, and most of the time he was either in Robotropolis or the Great Forest, the sky blocked either by foliage or metal...

"Well, that just won't do!" the rabbit spoke while animatedly tapping her chin in thought; "Ah know! Ah'll meet ya'll up here now an' then an' get ya'll caught up." She decided with a grin, and the hedgehog nodded: he wasn't dumb enough to pass up on a new friend.

"I'm Frost." He said while shaking the rabbit's hand.

"The name's Bunnie. Bunnie Rabbot." She replied, and they returned to their comfortable silence while they watched.

* * *

A/N - A note for the next chapter in line: if you don't like time-jumping (or something similar to it used by Quentin Tarentino in many of his movies), then you are going to hate me...but I've got my reasons! You'll see...  
Until then, reviews are golden!


	6. The Nightmare Begins

A/N - Okay, after hours upon hours of writing...and re-writing...here's chapter 5! It's considerably longer than previous chaps, but I hope ya'll enjoy regardless! :D  
Disclaimer: Let me check...nope: I still don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any characters involved with said blue blur. But I've got the OCs!

**

* * *

Death Egg MK. II  
Command Center  
1435 hrs, day 13, 3232**

It had been five years since Miles the Hedgehog – better known as Frost – escaped Robotropolis and joined the Freedom Fighters. And they had fought against their number one enemy for five long years, finally forcing him to retreat to the safety of his Death Egg in outer space...his _second_ Death Egg, he reminded himself with some disdain.

_I was right about that specimen: he is a resilient one._ Dr. Ivo Robotnik pondered while reading through a file on one of his other creations: this hedgehog was almost a carbon copy of Frost, but was almost completely roboticized, the color scheme falling to a fiery red on the elbows, knees, and torso, chrome for the legs and arms – the arms made up of orbs of metal connected together, via a powerful magnetic charge coming from the wrists and shoulder sockets – and his metal shoes were red on the front half, chrome on the back half, and red where the shoes connected to his lower legs. The lower jaw was roboticized, but his quills (which were the equivalent of long hair in Human eyes) and the rest of his face – which hinted that his fur was a vibrant blue at one point – was left normal but dulled and darkened, save for his robotic eyes that glowed a menacing red; _And this one is showing exceptional survivability as well._

Robotnik grinned his trademark evil grin from beneath his bushy orange mustache: specimen H-103 – or Flare, as the doctor had codenamed him – was not the stronger of his roboticized minions for nothing, and there were two simple reasons that he was. One, he was serving the genius of his own free will, but the factor of free will hardly stood up to the next reason in his opinion.

Flare was the older brother of Frost: Alias the Hedgehog. And superior genes _always_ took precedence over free will.

"Hey Doc, guess what I've got..." He heard behind him and swiveled his chair to face the specimen in question – the only minion that he allowed to call him "Doc" and live – and grinned at the sight of the familiar cyan emerald the mecha-hedgehog held in his metal hand.

"Ah, very well done Flare!" Robotnik gratified the mecha-hedgehog, holding his hand out, "Now, hand it over so I can connect it to the Death Egg's reactor input." Flare looked up and away in thought while turning away from Robotnik (though it was probably just his show-off personality showing through...again), then down at the gem in his metal hand as a wicked grin formed on his partially metal visage.

"Now that I think about it..." he spoke in a voice that was half synthesized and half his own while turning away, "I'll hold onto this." Dr. Robotnik's mouth was agape, opening and shutting much like a fish out of water: _How _dare _this little insect...!_ He thought, flabbergasted by the insolence of his minion. He knew it was a bad idea to let this hedgehog retain his free will; "In fact...I think I'll just find and use them all for myself!" Flare continued, tossing the gem into the air long enough to clap his hands together once in enthusiasm over the idea, then caught it deftly, "And then this world will be mine! This'll be _perfect!_" The hedgehog turned back to face Robotnik and his grin turned into a smirk that showed sharpened metal fangs, "Of course, I need to get rid of any liabilities..." the first moment, he was more than twenty feet away from the doctor-gone-dictator, and was standing right in front of him the next, the gem held out in front of Robotnik's face, "...starting with you!"

The chaotic energies inside the emerald awoke at the willing of its holder, hitting the doctor with a blast of heat that singed his eyebrows and flung him over the chair, only to topple over onto the ground in a heap of flab. Flare didn't hesitate; drawing more power from the gem's almost limitless supply, his eyes' glow brightened as his mechanical body was charged with the raw energy.

"Your end has come, Dr. Ivo Robotnik; or shall I call you Julian in your last moments?" the hedgehog taunted, and the doctor was flabbergasted yet again: _How could he possibly know of...?_ He thought with dread, and Flare grinned and tapped his forehead, referring to his brain; "You should've known I was a curious hedgehog...but it doesn't matter now. Just think of it this way:" his body had finally absorbed enough energy that he began to hover over the ground just barely, "at least you get to go out with a _bang!_"

The Death egg's command center was engulfed in an intense heat, then warped and buckled by the following shock wave; the blast shook the giant orbiting fortress, and it began to plummet to Mobius. Flare – harmed by neither the power he had wielded nor the destruction he had caused – casually looked at his work before shrugging his shoulders: _My work here is done,_ he thought while channeling his gem's power once more to his fingertips,_ and I want to see the show unravel from outside, anyway._ With but a thought he disappeared in a bright flash of light, leaving what charred bits of what was left of Robotnik to go down with the massive fortress.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 5:  
The Nightmare Begins...**_

**

* * *

Angel Island  
Mystic Ruins-Mushroom Hills Border  
1418 hrs, day 13, 3232**

Angel Island was a place of both tranquility and strife, much like any ancient site of a civilization's birth, but most of the architecture that was still standing inside the jungles was overtaken by nature with only bits and pieces of it peeking through the ferns and vines. Of course, the calm and silence that settled around this part of the Mystic Ruins was put on hold abruptly by a blur of motion, red mixed in with the metallic sheen of cyan. The foliage and branches all arched towards where this creature was heading: a cliff top that overlooked an abrupt change of scenery, from jungle to a bumpy landscape with mushrooms – large, small, and gigantic – as far as the eye could see.

Hence, the aptly named Mushroom Hills, which also happened to be where the red-cyan blur was living at the moment.

The creature – a Mobian hedgehog – skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff; he had vibrant red fur, four quills on the back of his head (their formation resembling a simple diamond shape) and six on his back that were in a double-row formation, and bright cyan eyes. His arms and legs set him apart from most Mobians since they were roboticized when he was younger, the outer casings for the arms and legs themselves being chrome while the shoulder plates, elbow guards, and knee guards were the same bright cyan as his eyes, though he kept his metallic hands covered with a pair of simple white gloves.

Like most teenage Mobians, he stood only about two and a half feet tall, and being a hedgehog gave him an undeniable thirst for one thing: the need to run, and fast. _Really _fast. Luckily, most hedgehogs are naturally built for speed, and his mechanical legs made that trait even more prominent.

His speed had earned him his real name – Miles – but his silent nature in a heated fight and – much to his grief early on in life – Robotnik's intended experiment, had earned him the nickname "Frost."

And thus, Frost the Hedgehog: Knothole Freedom Fighter and friend of the ever-famous Sonic the Hedgehog. He looked at the scenery, letting out a low whistle in admiration: even though he had passed through plenty of times during his stay on Angel Island (all thanks to Knuckles the Echidna not minding the red blur's presence on the floating island), he still found himself in awe at how beautiful the place was, and the abrupt changes added an odd uniqueness to the island. All in the eye of the beholder, as the saying went...

"So," Frost spoke to himself while looking over the cliff, "Knuckles wanted to meet at the hangout spot, huh?" he chuckled to himself with a calm smile, "Better not keep him waiting for _too _long." Tapping his half-cyan, half-white metal shoes on the earth – yes, he needed these shoes in order to run, as he was very prone to tripping over himself otherwise – he stood close enough to the edge of the cliff that he would fall if even lightly prodded, but had no worries: he might be a speed freak and a bit of a daredevil, but he knew exactly what he was doing. With barely even what could be considered a shuffle of feet, he fell over the edge, feet somehow managing to stay on the wall of earth he was running down. The ground was beginning to speed closer and closer...

...and he jumped off of the earthen wall, flipping forward and activating the two small jets in the bottom of each shoe, slowing gradually and coming to a stop a few feet above the ground; the jets automatically shut themselves off, and he landed without a single scratch on him and a satisfactory grin on his face.

He had practiced that maneuver numerous times – on much lower cliffs of course – yet still marveled at the handiwork that was Rotor's, the mechanic of the Knothole Freedom Fighters and the designer of Frost's metal shoes and their various upgrades and parts, and the jets were one of the many upgrades: they not only would give his jumps a very noticeable boost, but he could use the jets underwater for very brief moments; the fuel cells were fairly small however, and could only keep their user in the air for roughly five seconds. Not to mention it took a considerable amount of time for the cells to recharge afterward...

_I'll need to check in with Rotor one of these days, _he noted to himself, looking for which direction the hangout spot was; _Now, which way is it...aha! _he spotted the tiny marker he had set up here just for this sort of thing – a simple red string, nothing too fancy – and headed off in the direction the mushroom it was tied to pointed, a long trail of kicked up dust trying to settle behind him.

**

* * *

Angel Island  
The hangout spot  
1422 hrs, day 13, 3232**

Knuckles the Echidna sat with his back against one of the giant mushrooms, listening to a small stereo that cranked out the upbeat "in-your-face" sounding metal that Sonic constantly listened to – it had rubbed off on him, he didn't mind admitting that to himself...but not to the public at large. He didn't really notice that his foot was tapping to the music, he finally started to relax – it was a tough job being Guardian of Angel Island, after all – and just as his eyes closed...

"Hey Knuckles!"

One eye cracked open just enough to spot a red blur closing in quick, and he snorted: _Took him long enough, _he thought_..._and said just that once the red blur known as Frost skidded to a stop a few feet away; the hedgehog smiled a sheepish grin while scratching the back of his right ear.

"Yeah, sorry about that;" Frost apologized, "I slept in a bit too late." Knuckles simply shook his head with a smile: he knew that the hedgehog was still training to fight using the Chaos Emerald that he had lent to Frost, and the red blur was known for training well into the early hours of morning.

"Well, they're waiting on ya." Knuckles informed the hedgehog while standing back up and switching the stereo off, picking it up and walking forward. Frost tilted his head to the side a little in a silent question, and the echidna shrugged his shoulders; "You'll see who." He said, not bothering to turn his head to look for the hedgehog that was already walking next to him.

* * *

**Angel Island  
Mushroom Hills Airstrip  
1427 hrs, day 13, 3232**

Their walk was rather short and not on the heavily trodden path of earth that looped almost completely around Mushroom Hill before ending at the Airstrip, which was – in all respects to physical dimensions – only a five minute walk if you took the simple shortcut and headed northeast. In other words, only the fleet-of-foot used the long trail for the most part, but Frost didn't really feel like following it: he knew of the almost randomly placed cliffs, pitfalls, and ledges he would be faced with, and the cliff dive from earlier had depleted most of his shoe-jets' power; Thus, he slowed his pace to what felt like crawling to the red blur, and followed Knuckles.

They both stopped at the shrubs that separated them from the view of an expansive landing zone – formerly property of Dr. Robotnik, as evident by the metal hangars, paved-and-lighted airstrip, mechanical cranes, and the plethora of supply depots; most of the surrounding mushrooms had been cleared from the area, but new ones were quickly flourishing in their place. And upon stepping out from their cover and walking onto the airstrip, they were confronted with the site of the Cyclone just finishing its landing procedure – along with its pilot, a young fox who happened to have not one, but _two_ tails. Hence...

"Tails! Over here!"

...the obvious nickname for the kitsune. Tails pushed his flying goggles out of the way of his sky blue eyes and spotted the two, waving excitedly with a tooth-filled grin; the trio met up at the fox's reliable biplane, the hedgehog not afraid to get down to business.

"So..." Frost began to ask, "...what's the plan?" the young kit looked at the hedgehog as if he had grown another head, and Knuckles sighed heavily while shaking his head side to side.

"Don't tell me you forgot what today is..." the red blur heard the echidna say loud enough for him to hear, and that got the gears going...barely; _Today is...? _He pondered to himself, drawing a blank.

"You forgot about your birthday!?" Tails blurted out, shocked that such a thing could even be possible, and Frost almost bounced backwards a foot on his feet, finally remembering said occasion.

"My birthday!?" he realized, then became extremely quiet as if thinking, which was pretty much right on the mark: he was surprised that he had forgotten such a thing, but with fighting against Robotnik's Empire to worry about on top of his frantic search for any sign of his family, he supposed it must've been pushed far into the background noise of his thoughts. However, similar to Sonic, he preferred to keep his speaking much more simple than how his thoughts sounded, so what came out of his mouth was...

"...Wow. I guess time really flies..."

Knuckles rolled his eyes at the hedgehog, then turned to face the foliage that they had just made their way through; "Well, I'm off." The echidna informed, Frost looking over at him.

"You're not going with?" he asked, and the guardian shook his head and headed back into the thick of the mushrooms.

"Someone has to guard the island." Was his only reply, which made perfect sense to the red blur: no reason to leave the floating island open to attack by Robotnik. Frost looked back at the Cyclone, his eyes drifting over to the passenger seat in the back; _Could've sworn I saw something metallic over there..._ he thought while his eyes barely narrowed in contemplation, _and it can't one of Robotnik's robo-dorks, so that means...!_

He felt a finger tap his shoulder lightly, and he jumped in the air with a very loud "GAH!" There was a very sweet "Southern Belle" giggle that rang out behind him, and then a voice sweeter than chocolate...or chili dogs, he thought while stopping himself from drooling barely:

"Ah gotcha again, sugah! Ah declare, ya'll are too easy."

He froze, a dorky smile etched on his face and growing; he knew _that _voice. The hedgehog turned around and saw another of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, a yellow furred rabbit this time: her left arm and her legs from the hips down (though it oddly excluded her tail) were roboticized in a style similar to Frost's arms and legs although light violet on certain parts of the robotics, and she wore the upper part of a simple leotard under a brown leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Her arms were on her hips and a smile on her face, partially covered by her drooping left ear.

"Bah, you just got lucky..." Frost joked, glad that Tails had already climbed into the cockpit to start up the biplane; yes, the hedgehog and rabbit – Bunnie, as everyone simply calls her – had fought side by side against Robotnik and his sub-bosses for four years, and had become close friends over that time. She had even busted Frost out of Robotnik's holding cells once or twice so far...

Their arms were wrapped around each other the next moment in a simple yet meaningful hug. Yeah, they were close: _really _close.

"Happy birthday, Miles." Bunnie said over the revving of the Cyclone's engine, and the hedgehog smiled genuinely.

"Thanks; it's good to see ya, Scarlet." He replied; only five people knew his real name (she was the only one still alive who knew, to his knowledge), and so far only he knew of the rabbit's actual name. And they intended to keep their names as their little secrets. Tails whistled at the pair to get their attention, which worked much to their embarrassment.

"C'mon guys! We've gotta get to Knothole before it gets dark!" he shouted over the engine's roar, and the two Mobians with their feet still on solid ground finally climbed up and squeezed into the back seat, neither minding being slightly cramped into the tight space one bit.

**

* * *

Mobius Wastelands  
23 miles east of Casino Night Zone  
1434 hrs, day 13, 3232**

A few minutes had passed since they had taken off, and the two passengers found themselves lightly sleeping despite the winds trying to whip at their faces, but they didn't mind much; as long as there weren't any clouds on the horizon, and no robots were on the war path...

_Come to think of it,_ Frost found himself thinking, _Robotnik has been cooped up in that Death Egg for a while._ His brow furrowed itself in concentration; _Not to mention that Robotropolis was also found abandoned a few weeks ago...I wonder if he's finally decided to separate himself from Mobius for good..._ his train of thought was briefly interrupted by the faint sound of an explosion – as evident by the sudden twitch of his ear – not that it sounded horribly big or anything; _...he probably just wanted to get away from Mobius while he blasts us to— _He heard a much louder series of explosions, along with a loud rumbling coming from far ahead and above them. His eyes snapped open, and his gut immediately soured as he assumed the worst...

...and found himself looking at something even more horrible: the Death Egg was _falling_. His mind numbed itself at the hypnotic sight as his body fluidly slipped out of the seat – Bunnie already having awakened because of the blasts and giving him room to get out – and perched itself on the topmost wing on the right side; if that thing was going to impact where he thought it would, then that meant...

**

* * *

Robotropolis Outskirts  
125 miles from the explosion  
1436 hrs, day 13, 3232**

There was an extremely bright light as the metal egg-fort slammed into the heart of Robotropolis, the many generators that powered the city, and – quite ironically – a stockpile of nuclear warheads that Robotnik had been saving for use _much_ later in his campaign (why he didn't store them on the Death Egg and simply use them from orbit was anyone's guess). Everyone who could see the impact shielded their eyes in fear of being blinded, then felt the immense shock wave of the blast that ignored whether one was on the ground, underwater, or in the air, and its accompanying roar that could shatter eardrums.

Then, as the light faded and the roar rumbled in the background, everyone on Mobius gazed in absolute fear over the gigantic pillar of heat and radiation that loomed over the city's newly created and smoldering ruins, thick clouds of debris and dust spreading to cover the entire world in a blanket of darkness.

All but one pair of eyes, and those stared at the scene in awe.

Flare – who was far enough away from the impact zone and from the ensuing fallout to not have to worry about any sort of ailment or injury – let his gaze fall back to the cyan Chaos Emerald in his hand; _If _one_ of these gems gives me enough power to cause this, _he thought while a wicked grin formed on his partially roboticized visage, _then who knows what's possible with all seven of them!_ The almost completely roboticized hedgehog's laugh was partly his own, partly a synthesized laugh. The mecha-hedgehog felt a spike of energy similar to the emerald he held coming from the northwest, and stopped his maddened cackling only to grin maliciously, his sharpened metal teeth bared in the process; _And there's my first target! Almost as if on queue..._ He mused to himself before speeding away from the chaos he had created single-handedly in a blur of motion.

And from that point onward, Mobius was doomed.

* * *

A/N - Ah, nothing like an ominous last line to end a chapter...anyways, tell me what ya'll think!


	7. Reunion of Two Hedgehogs

A/N - Hi everybody! I know I haven't posted in ages (braces for brick-throwing), but you can blame job hunting for that...and an extremely bad case of writer's block. This is a relatively short chapter IMHO, but enjoy nonetheless! And now, the disclaimer:  
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog, or any of its characters/settings/other stuff I forgot to mention...that's SEGA's stuff; I claim any OCs though!

**

* * *

Mobius Wastelands  
20 miles east of Casino Night City  
1441 hrs, day 13, 3232**

The wastelands were just as silent as the rest of the world, since said world was in the moment between initial shock and the following aftershock; none of the usual animals bothered to reveal themselves to what might be their impending destruction, and even the winds that seemed to run amok regularly in this area were oddly absent. Within the space of a few split seconds a metallic red blur of motion skidded to a halt, kicking up a plume of dust that drifted ahead of it...or rather, him.

Flare – which was a name he despised now...not that Alias was much better, but it beat that blasted codename assigned to him – looked around for the source of that energy spike he had felt earlier, finding nothing and letting out a synthesized grunt of disapproval. _It shouldn't be this difficult to spot a gem like _this_,_ he thought while looking at the cyan Chaos Emerald in his possession with his robotic gaze, _so where...?_

His thought was interrupted by the somewhat audible roar of a propeller above him. Alias looked skyward, and grinned at the sight of a biplane; more importantly, the tiny red dot that was a hedgehog standing on the top-right wing. _As I thought: right...on...queue._ The mecha-hedgehog's grin turned into a malicious one within the instant, and he activated the jet boosters built into his shoes' soles, aiming his trajectory for the biplane.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 6:  
Reunion of Two Hedgehogs**_

* * *

Time seemed to stand still for what was the briefest of moments as the three Mobians on board the Cyclone were silent. Tails was staring at the mushroom cloud to the south that marked where Robotropolis once stood, occasionally glancing at the instruments on the biplane's dashboard, Bunnie simply kept her concerned gaze locked onto both the site of the collision and the red hedgehog; Frost, being a simple Mobian at heart, simply stared in shock at the pillar of radiated debris that ascended from the once massive empire. They all stared in physical silence, yet their minds were rampant with frantic questions: why did the Death Egg fall? Was it a malfunction? Sabotage? If it was sabotage, then _who_?

The loud beeping coming from the Cyclone's radar jarred them from their thoughts, but the warning was far too late for the experienced pilot to evade the offending object. Tails was about to shout "Brace for impact!", but the object tore straight through the tail of the biplane, sending it careening for the parched earth below them uncontrollably, Frost barely hanging onto the wing he had been perched upon stably moments ago. The inevitable collision with the ground came to fruition, and the three Mobians blacked out.

* * *

Frost's head was swimming, and his ribs felt like they were tearing into his organs. Nonetheless, his concern for his friends overrode the pain, and he slowly got back onto his feet with a sway. His vision was blurred, but was slowly returning to normal; with a quick shake of his head to clear it up he looked around for the other two, finding Tails and Bunnie still strapped into their seats. _They're okay..._ he thought with a sigh of relief, unbuckling and sitting them on the ground as they tried to clear their heads of that same swimming feeling.

"Mah stars...what was that?" Bunnie was the first to speak, Frost shaking his head in response while the kitsune tried to recall what the now-wrecked Cyclone's radar had picked up.

"I don't know," Tails replied, favoring a bruise on his forehead, "but it was moving just as fast as Sonic...maybe even faster." This was disturbing news for all three of them: if whatever had destroyed the Death Egg was possibly faster than even Sonic, then they were in deep trouble if it was after them too.

"But who could be--" Frost began to ask, but was interrupted by a chilling, synthesized laugh from his right, only a few feet away.

"Well well, long time no see, Little Bro."

Everyone looked over at the voice's source, their gazes falling upon the red-armored and blue-furred Robian hedgehog, who grinned evilly back at them with an intense robotic glare. Frost's eyes were as wide as saucers, dumbstruck at the sight of his long lost brother...

"...Alias?" he managed to blurt out, finally finding his voice again, "What happened to you?" The older – and much more mechanical – hedgehog's grin changed into a feral, razor-sharp tooth filled one.

"Simple: I became stronger." Alias answered while looking at the gaping tear he had created in the Cyclone's tail, "_Much_ stronger. In fact, you could say I'm almost godlike now!" He chuckled at his own words, much like a slightly insane man would, and the three Freedom Fighters put two and two together, Tails being the first to speak.

"So you caused the Death Egg to crash!" he exclaimed, and the mecha-hedgehog applauded the kitsune sarcastically.

"Bingo!" he said with a sarcastic gusto, "And that's just the prelude to my little game." All three of the Freedom Fighters thought the exact same thing: _A game? That doesn't sound good..._ "So what do you think, Little Bro: first one to find all of the Chaos Emeralds wins all of Mobius. Sound like fun?" Alias spoke, earning a glare from his younger sibling; "That's the spirit! It begins tomorrow at dawn." the mecha-hedgehog turned around and sped off, leaving the other three far behind in a cloud of dust. They looked at each other, a grave look etched onto each of their faces.

* * *

A/N - Like I said: it's a short chapter, but the next one will be longer. As always, reviews are golden!


	8. Your Not So Typical Day

A/N - Hooray! Two chapters in one sitting! And as I promised (or at least said :P), it'll be a longer chapter than the last.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog...there, happy? ...Dibs on Alias and Frost though! :D

**

* * *

Westside Island  
Downtown West Robotropolis  
1622 hrs, day 16, 3232**

Just a typical day in the city: the lack of clouds in the sky, the hustle and bustle of traffic making it nigh impossible to walk anywhere without running into someone's front bumper, the consistent swearing of taxi cab drivers...

Not to mention your occasional brawl between a half-Robian and Robian, as was shown to the public as a red furred hedgehog was thrown through the double doors of an auction house by an explosion, quickly followed by two bolts of flame that flew over the teenager's head and into the building behind him as he skidded across the pavement; the flow of traffic screeched to a halt and watched as the second hedgehog – a red armored one – stepped through the doorway with a yellow Chaos Emerald in hand – now one of four owned by him – and a smug look on his partially robotic countenance.

"What's the matter?" Alias said as he chuckled at his younger brother's state, "Weren't you saying something about stopping me?" Frost picked himself up off the ground and shook his head a little, trying to get the ringing in his ears to quit for at least a second. The onlookers – who had just figured out, thanks to the flame bolts, that they were in the middle of a battle between two partially robotic hedgehogs that could tear apart the area around them easily – began to run for their lives, but not without the usual screaming that accompanies terror that only such a brawl could inspire.

_Yup...just a typical day:_ the younger hedgehog thought sarcastically, brushing away some blood from a cut just above his left eye and readying himself for the flurry of claw swipes that came at him predictably yet still just as deadly; _he goes after a Chaos Emerald,_ five swipes meant to slice his torso to ribbons are barely avoided, _I go after him, _he dodged another three swipes for the torso then blocked a kick aimed at his right side, _and every time, he's wiped the floor with me._ Three more kicks were directed at his gut, head, and legs – in that order – and the assault was blocked, ducked under, then jumped over – in the same such order, _But not today: I'll get him this time!_

His hopes for stopping Alias this time were crushed as the wind was knocked out of him by a roboticized shoulder slamming into his chest, and Frost was sent skidding along the pavement once again and into the side of a rather expensive looking car, putting a large dent in said side. The red hedgehog's head was swimming, and he would pick himself up off the ground as soon as the world quit tilting back and forth so much...

He felt himself being picked up by someone else from his right – since Alias was still a ways in front of him, he could only guess that it was one of those bystanders too stupid to run for his life – and tried to shrug the person away from him and failed rather miserably. Opting to just look at whoever this guy was, he tilted his head in that direction and found himself staring at a very familiar blue furred hedgehog.

"So that's the guy you were talkin' about, huh?" Sonic asked as the still dazed Frost nodded slowly, and the blue blur grinned, "He doesn't look _that_ tough..." he muttered before cupping his free hand near his mouth like a megaphone, "Hear that, robo-dork? You ain't that tough-lookin'!" he shouted over at Alias – who's eye twitched a little in annoyance at the Mobian's jab – before returning his attention to the younger of two half-Robians, who was able to stand on his own if a bit wobbly at first; "Go help the others: I'll handle him." Sonic ordered, and Frost looked as if he were about to say something but thought about it. Sure, it was stupid to try fighting someone who was half or full Robian, and it was suicide to fight that same Robian/half-Robian when they had three Chaos Emeralds with them...but he wasn't in the best of shape at the moment, and – not meaning to sound overly cliché – this was _the_ Sonic the Hedgehog in question here.

"Got it." he simply replied while placing a hand on the blue hedgehog's shoulder, "But if you don't come back, then we'll all kill ya." the blue blur gave him a grin and a thumbs-up, and Frost ran off to help with the evacuation.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 7:  
Your Not-So-Typical Day**_

* * *

As the red blur sprinted away and into the throng of evacuees, Sonic saw the red armored mecha-hedgehog begin to give chase; _Well, I ain't gonna just let that happen, now will I?_ He jokingly thought, running and stopping right in front of Alias with a hand extended outward in the universal way of saying "slow down, idiot." The mecha-hedgehog skidded to a halt just inches away from colliding with the world-renowned Freedom Fighter, and gave said hero a cold, robotic glare.

"Out of the way, hedgehog: I'm going to find my brother." he grumbled while trying to sidestep the Mobian, only for the blue blur to mimic the sidestep with the speed of a lightning bolt.

"No you ain't." Sonic disagreed quickly, receiving a harsher glare from Alias.

"My quarrel isn't with you, _hedgehog_, it's with--"

"Frost?" The blue blur cut him off mid-sentence, then crossed his arms with a stern look, "Look, if you got a problem with him or any of my friends, then you got a problem with me." The mecha-hedgehog's glare became even more harsh – if that was even possible at this point – before an evil grin formed on his partially metal visage.

"Fine, then I'll just deal with you _first_!" he spoke just before lashing out with a claw swipe, which was sidestepped effortlessly by the blue blur. Alias lunged forward with a flurry of punches and claw swipes, but they were dodged and blocked just as easily as the first attack; "C'mon, just stand still for a second: it'll only take a second, I promise!" the mecha-hedgehog spoke out of minor annoyance at his target, who simply continued to move just out of reach of every attack.

"Sorry, but I'm not the type to stand still for too long." Sonic replied back in a taunting way while blocking another punch then dodging a kick aimed for his torso. The game of cat-and-hedgehog continued as Humans and Mobians alike fled from the city turned battleground, and the blue blur was finally starting to get on Alias' robotic nerves.

"Why...can't...you..._stand_..._still_!?" he growled, every word punctuated by a powerful swipe or punch that missed its intended target, the final swipe causing Sonic to back-flip away from the mecha-hedgehog; the Freedom Fighter faked a loud yawn, cupping a hand over his mouth.

"Geez, you're putting me to sleep over here!" he taunted once again, and was answered by a large fireball being flung his way which he jumped over effortlessly and landed on his feet with his hands on his hips, "Aw, did I hit a nerve?" another three bolts of flame seared through the air in his direction, and he dodged each one – the first with a somersault, the second as if playing leap-frog, and the third much like a gymnast vaulting over a hurdle – without even breaking a sweat; "And he sticks the landing! The crowd goes wild!" he exclaimed with arms stretched upward. Two bolts of flame sped towards him in a spiraling formation, and he simply sidestepped them while sticking his tongue out at Alias with his eyes closed and fingers wiggling next to his head.

Suffice to say, the mecha-hedgehog had had enough.

Sonic was caught off guard by Alias' Chaos-fueled burst of speed and found himself at the business end of a shoulder to the gut, colliding with a cement wall and leaving a sizable crater. The next few punches to his gut were just as painful, but he didn't expect for his attacker to jump back then upward aided by jet boosters; his eyes followed the angered mecha-hedgehog's flight, then widened at the sight of the fireball that materialized above Alias' hands – which was larger than a football stadium, thanks to the Chaos energy the Robian had absorbed.

"Dodge _this_!" he shouted, flinging the expansive globe of flames to the ground.

**

* * *

Westside Island  
Outskirts of West Robotropolis  
1653 hrs, day 16, 3232**

"Come on, just a little further people!" Frost shouted to the throng of refugees, making sure that the crowd kept moving and didn't dissolve into a frantic mob; _Looks like the others are doing alright, _he thought quietly while glancing at the other Freedom Fighters who were helping their respective throngs evacuate from the doomed city, and was just about to turn and see if Sonic was doing alright with keeping Alias occupied...

The explosion rang through the air much like a lion's roar, and the city of West Robotropolis was consumed in an inferno: everyone covered their ears at the sound, hoping that their eardrums wouldn't be obliterated by the noise that overcame the surrounding background noise, but they couldn't help but stare in horror at the destruction that had overtaken their home. All of the Freedom Fighters present were doing the same exact thing, hoping that – by some odd twist of luck or fate, or whatever held sway over life and its roller coaster-esque changes – Sonic would emerge from the wreckage without a single scratch on him; even if he had a few scratches or bruises, they hoped...

**

* * *

Westside Island  
West Robotropolis' ruins  
1657 hrs, day 16, 3232**

Alias hovered in the air, his jet boosters still giving their usual whine as they kept their user floating far above the melted and burnt husk of a city. He scanned the destruction he had unleashed, noting that nothing living was left...especially that _blasted_ hedgehog; _It's no wonder that Julian hated him so much,_ he thought quietly with a glare, moving his robotic gaze elsewhere, _and it looks like I've lost Miles again..._ with a grunt, he began to fly away from the charred city.

Unknown to him, a lone Mobian hedgehog – a charcoal black one with red highlights on his quills, as opposed to the blue blur everyone knew and respected – emerged from a pile of rubble and dusted off his gloves nonchalantly with a "hmph", before fishing for a white gem from behind his quills and disappearing in a flash of light.

* * *

A/N - Gasp! Is Sonic really gone? ...Well, I'm not gonna say anything for sure, but I know you can easily guess who the mysterious hedgehog is. 'Til next time!


	9. A Somewhat Reluctant Ally

A/N - Okay, it's been a bit since I've last updated, but you can thank life for that (as usual :P ). Anyways!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog...there, happy? I'm not, that's for sure...but I have dibs on Frost and Alias!

**

* * *

Knothole Village  
Freedom Fighter HQ  
2317 hrs, day 16, 3232**

The cramped control center for the Freedom Fighters was hauntingly quiet. Everyone was assembled in front of the large table that held a map of Mobius, but no one spoke a single word. Knuckles had a reason for not showing up, guarding the Master Emerald and all...that, and it was almost impossible to contact the echidna since he never carried a communicator. Sonic was also absent from the meeting, and news of what could only have been his death – along with the thousands of people that didn't escape in time – had shaken each and every one of them to the core, Sally especially; the empty and distant gaze she had was more than enough evidence of that. No one looked at anyone in the eye at that time, simply staring at the map in front of them. Tails was the first to find his voice and break the silence.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked. Sally's gaze changed to a narrowed glare, still directed at the map.

"We stop him." was all she said, which coerced a grunt from Frost as he placed both hands on the table and stared even more intently at the representation of Mobius.

"That's easier said than done..." he stated grimly, and everyone was silent once again. With a silent exhale, the red hedgehog broke that silence; "We've lost contact with Vale, there's no word coming from the Freedom Fighters in Kohl--"

"That's because he's already taken them out." they heard from the entrance, and everyone wheeled around to face the owner of the slightly gruff voice.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 8:  
A Somewhat Reluctant Ally**_

* * *

They saw a black furred hedgehog with red highlights on his five partially upturned quills and equally red eyes that had a piercing quality to them. His arms were covered with the same black fur with a red stripe starting at the wrist and coming to a point just below the elbow, and an inhibitor ring was attached to each stark white glove at the wrist as well. The shoes he wore were very similar in appearance to Frost's own, except for being much lighter in weight and designed with a gap for grinding in the middle of the soles. His arms were crossed and a slight frown was etched onto his countenance, and Sally gave him a confused look.

"And how do you know this?" she asked, and the mysterious newcomer simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Because I watched him reduce Kohl to a pile of rubble," he replied while uncrossing his arms, "just like West Robotropolis." he looked at everyone before letting his piercing gaze fall on Frost as if sizing him up; "And you seem to know more about him than anyone else here: am I right?" the red hedgehog grunted and looked away with arms folded, the newcomer smirking in victory at the response.

"So what: are you gonna help us out?" Frost asked the mysterious Mobian, who scoffed with a glare.

"Sorry, but I work alone." he stated while turning around and leaving, leaving everyone with little hope left to grasp. Frost simply stared at the doorway the Mobian had left through, then glared. His feet seemed to move of their own volition, through said door and allowing him to catch up with the black hedgehog with ease. He stood in the gruff newcomer's way and stopped him from sidestepping out of the way, eliciting an intense glare; "Back off, _hedgehog._" he warned, but Frost wasn't about to listen to any threats and returned the glare equally.

"If you saw what happened to Kohl, then you've fought Alias, right?" he asked sternly, and was rewarded with another scoff.

"So that thing has a name now?" the Mobian retorted, and tried to sidestep away but was stopped by the strong grip of Frost's robotic hand on his shoulder.

"Just answer the question." he ordered with a low growl, unsure as to why this hedgehog was being a general pain in the rear, but was given a quick nod regardless; "Then you should _know_ that he can't be taken on alone. Trust me: I've tried..." he explained, "so the only way to stop this nightmare is to work together; _got_ _it_?" The black hedgehog looked away for a moment, and let out a huff of air.

"Fine." he simply said, and the red hedgehog grinned while holding out a hand.

"Alright; the name's Frost." he greeted, and the mysterious hedgehog shook his hand.

"Shadow." he replied, turning back towards headquarters, "So mind explaining how you know this Alias so well?" Frost nodded in reply, and began to explain everything he knew about his brother-turned-nemesis.

**

* * *

Red Canyons  
Just outside Madeo  
1104 hrs, day 18, 3232**

The two hedgehogs sped through the terracotta red canyons and valleys, avoiding the large dirt road that led directly to one of the last sanctuary-towns known as Madeo: it was a town much like Knothole in concept, though it couldn't be further from it in appearance – thanks to the palm trees and ferns that separated it from the almost barren canyons. For Shadow, this was simply another potential resting place for a Chaos Emerald and thus a target for Alias.

For Frost, on the other hand, it was a trip to a part of his past. _Never though I'd see home again,_ he thought while looking around at the familiar surroundings; he remembered when he would run through the canyons with seemingly reckless abandon as a much younger kid, occasionally tagging along with the small group of childhood friends to swim in one of the many rivers that snaked through the area, or just relax at his old home with his mother's home cooking – chili-dogs at the top of the list of specialties.

"I wonder how mom's doing..." he muttered to himself while slowing to a stop, the black hedgehog picking up the comment and letting out a "humph" and stopping as well.

"Keep your head in the mission, Frost:" Shadow reminded the younger hedgehog with a glance in his direction, "this isn't some leisurely trip." Frost gave him a half-assed glare.

"Hey, you can't blame a hedgehog for being concerned...besides," he explained while shrugging his shoulders, "I haven't been here in ages." Their conversation was interrupted by the beep of Frost's communicator, and he switched it on; "Hey Sal, we're almost to Madeo." he informed their leader, the other end of the channel crackling to life.

"_Good: you two remember the plan?"_ Sally asked, and interrupted the red hedgehog's reply, _"Or rather, does Shadow remember the plan? I'm pretty sure you weren't paying much attention during the briefing."_ this made Frost grunt and look away, while Shadow let out a very rare chuckle.

"C'mon, you're selling me short here Sal..." the younger hedgehog grumbled, and the black hedgehog grabbed the communicator from Frost's wrist and set it around his own.

"I remember, Sally: I'll find the Chaos Emerald, and Frost acts as the distraction if Alias shows up." Shadow recited, "We'll contact Tails once we have the emerald, and he'll meet us outside Madeo to pick us up."

"_Alright: be careful, you two."_ Sally said before the connection was cut, and the older hedgehog switched the communicator off. He looked over at Frost, who gave him a thumbs-up before they both sped off for the small town.

* * *

A/N - Well, what do ya'll think? Let me know!


	10. Calm Before the Storm

A/N - Yeesh, it's been far too long since I've written anything! Thought I wasn't gonna update this, huh? ...Regardless, this won't be the action-packed, fireball-fueled chapter like the one before the last, but it's still just as important IMHO. :P  
By the way, my thanks goes out to DarkSword512 for this story's first review evah!  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise or its characters... that's SEGA's property; I DO own Frost, Alias, Tank, Gyro, and Squall (the last three being new), however. :D

**

* * *

Red Canyons  
Just outside Madeo  
1107 hrs, day 18, 3232**

Two blurs of motion – one a mix of red, gunmetal, and cyan who had taken the lead, the other black with a few streaks of red and following closely beside the other blur – wove in and out of the sea of palm trees and ferns that stood between them and the next Chaos Emerald. The leading blur took a slight left turn at a giant spire of terracotta rock, then dashed past a rather short palm tree before taking a right, the other blur keeping pace effortlessly. A hairpin left turn past a large loop formation of earth and two sharp rights later, the two figures found themselves sprinting through a thicket of ferns and into a grove of palm trees that blocked their view of one of many canyon walls. With a short skid that kicked up a cloud of dust Frost came to a halt, Shadow stopping in a similar fashion nearby; the red hedgehog scratched the back of his head while looking around.

"Now, which tree was it again...?" he asked himself, glancing up at a few of the palm trees' branches as if looking for a certain something. The black furred Mobian gave him a confused look, which Frost returned only when he had moved over to the next tree in his suspicion and began to climb it; "What?" he asked, and Shadow grunted and crossed his arms with an annoyed look.

"We don't have time to be climbing trees, Frost." he muttered as he watched the red furred hedgehog climb, who finally let out a whoop in victory as he grabbed what must have been a branch and jump down with it still in his robotic grip...

There was a click, then a loud rumbling coming from the canyon wall as a section of earth slid to the side, revealing a secret passageway lit only by a couple of torches. Frost finally let go of the lever cleverly disguised as a palm tree branch, landing on both feet and smirking at Shadow who simply shrugged his shoulders before following the red hedgehog into the tunnel. The false wall moved back into its original place, the tunnel system now barely lit by the two torches on either side of the two hedgehogs; the red Mobian grabbed the one on the right before leading the way silently.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 9:  
Calm Before the Storm**_

**

* * *

Madeo  
The old orphanage  
1149 hrs, day 18, 3232**

To any visitor to this village, the orphanage was simply another building among the small wooden huts with thatched roofing; to the Mobians that lived here, it was the sole landmark and – to most of the children that lived in Madeo – their home and headquarters. One of said kids that called the old yet still functioning building "home" being the white furred echidna that sat on the front steps: his arms were held behind his head casually much like an organic pillow, his dreadlocks looking as if they had been meticulously well-kept, and his hands covered in a pair of studded, bleach white gloves. The dark gray marking on his chest – which one of the elders had called an ankh, though this Mobian had no clue what that meant – was visible to the world, though it would have been more so if his legs weren't as they were, one being brought up and the other resting atop at the ankle, his partially airborne foot tapping to nonexistent music. Both feet were covered in muddied shoes, the metal studs looking oddly pristine compared to the worn material.

The echidna, known as Tank by everybody he knew, looked up at the sky lazily. _Almost noon..._ he observed while letting out a small sigh, _When's Gyro and Squall gonna be back? _he looked over at the patch of ferns that blocked his view of the sanctuary village's hidden entrance for a brief moment, before closing his eyes again and tapping his semi-airborne foot once again. He thought he heard the false wall shift to the side, and looked at the sound's source to find...no one. With a shrug, he closed his eyes again and resumed his previous attempt at relaxation. There was another rumbling noise, followed by the rustle of ferns being pushed aside; _Maybe they're finally back, yeah?_ Tank wondered, opening an eye for the third time...

* * *

At this point in time, Frost and Shadow had finally found their way through the expansive tunnel system carved into the canyon wall; the red hedgehog was just starting to move the boulder that covered the passageway's end back into place.

"And you said you knew those tunnels like the back of your hand?" the black furred Mobian asked jokingly with an amused grin, referring to how many dead ends they had run into before stumbling out of the tunnels. Frost waved the question off with his free hand.

"Yeah, yeah...like I've said," he retorted, "I haven't been here in a while." Shadow let out a single "humph" before following the red hedgehog through the ferns. Frost looked around at the small huts and other buildings, the feeling of nostalgia taking over the pit of his stomach mixed with relief that everything was still intact. He would've continued his look around if it wasn't for the familiar echidna that caught him in a crushing bear hug.

"DUDE!" the Mobian shouted with barely contained glee, "It's been too long, yeah?" the red hedgehog, however, couldn't answer even if he wanted to: the echidna had always been able to squish the life out of people with his hugs, and this one was no exception.

"Good...to...see ya...too...Tank..." Frost managed to greet with a wince, and Tank finally dropped him with a nervous chuckle. As the hedgehog tried to breathe somewhat normally, he looked up at his old friend and grinned; "Got a strong grip as always." he joked, and the albino echidna was about to answer but was cut off by two other figures stepping out from the brush: the first was a gray furred wolf wearing a bandoleer with a few explosive charges still set in the loops, his round-rimmed glasses sitting crookedly atop his nose – before he adjusted them, of course – and obscuring his amber eyes. The second was a hedgehog whose pale blue fur contrasted his vibrant violet eyes; the three quills on the back of his head were much like Shadow's because of their natural flare upward, and a single column of three quills ran along his spine.

Gyro the wolf and Squall the hedgehog, respectively.

"Miles: long time, no see!" the wolf greeted with a wide smile and a handshake, Squall simply sufficing with a nod and a smile: Frost shook Gyro's hand and nodded back at the pale blue hedgehog, grin still in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the slightly confused look on Shadow's face.

"I didn't know your real name was Miles." the black hedgehog stated, and Frost simply shrugged; this caused the other three to tilt their heads in question, and the red hedgehog sighed.

"That's something we can worry about later: right now, there's more serious business to take care of." he explained to his three old friends while scratching the back of his head, finally looking over at the orphanage; "You guys still have that Chaos Emerald?" he asked, and Squall nodded silently before leading the group away from the village's border.

* * *

**Madeo  
Inside one of many huts  
1213 hrs, day 18, 3232**

"W-wait a sec: that's just crazy, yeah?!"

Tank's voice was the first to break the short yet tense silence inside the hut, only seconds after Frost had finished explaining the situation to everyone there: as expected, the echidna had an overall shocked and incredulous look on his face, and Gyro seemed to have a hard time believing this news as well – even if he was the more understanding of the group. Squall, on the flipside of the coin, was oddly collected and calm. The gray wolf fidgeted with his glasses, scrunching up his muzzle in thought.

"Let me get this straight: Alias and you were both partly roboticized, but you managed to escape..." Gyro mulled over the story verbally and earned a nod thus far from the red hedgehog in question, "And now, rather out of the blue might I add, Robotnik lets Alias loose. Your older brother turns on him, blows Robotropolis to smithereens, and is now going on a destructive rampage...did I get the gist of it?" Frost nodded again, and the albino echidna cut in once again.

"Like I told ya: it's damn crazy!" he shouted, "Sure, Alias would probably wanna blow up Robotnik an' all, but everythin' else?" he shook his head in disbelief, "That's just not like him, yeah?" the pale blue hedgehog – who had stayed silent throughout the entirety of the explanation and following outbursts – finally spoke up.

"Actually, it does make _some_ sense;" Squall interjected, standing up fully from leaning against the wall and glancing to the side at the echidna, "I mean, think about it: roboticization is meant to be complete, not just partial." He looked over at Frost; "You said he was almost completely roboticized, right?" he was answered with a slow nod, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Then the overall stress on his body must've made his mind snap." More silence followed this theory, even though the pale blue hedgehog could've sworn he heard Tank calling him a "brainiac" under his breath.

"That's not the point:" Shadow intervened, uncrossing his arms and looking at everyone in the hut with a level yet piercing gaze, "the point _is_ that he's after the Chaos Emeralds, and his _next_ target is most likely this one." he pointed at the red gem in the center of the small table, its fiery red light illuminating the hut. Everyone's gaze fell to the Chaos Emerald, but the silence was broken once again; this time, by an explosion outside followed by the sound of falling rubble that must have been one of the huts.

"Speak of the devil..." was all Frost said before bolting out the door, the others following close on his heels.

* * *

A/N - And the rumble in the jungle begins! ...soon. Until then, tell me what y'all think!


	11. Rumble in the Tropics

A/N - Whew! It took me a _long_ while to write this one up, then a bit longer to get the continuity/flow of the battle right; but, I think y'all will like how it turned out...  
Again, the first-person-to-review award goes to DarkSword512! *hands over a trophy* Your review pretty much inspired the intro to this chapter, so...yay! :P  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog; that's property of SEGA. The Madeo Freedom Fighters, Alias, and Frost, on the flipside, I DO own!

**

* * *

Madeo  
Far above the village  
1212 hrs, day 18, 3232**

The infamous mecha-hedgehog floated far above his old hometown thanks to the powerful jet boosters on his shoes, glaring down at the small number of people – not many, ten or eleven at the most – who were either brave enough or simply too busy to care that their homes could become their funeral pyres at any given moment and with a simple wave of his hand. A small smirk graced his metallic jaw at the thought of burning this place, much like the other towns and villages, to the ground. _And with four of the Chaos Emeralds,_ he noted silently as he felt them barely shift under his hairlike quills and settle once again, _it shouldn't even be close to difficult to deal with anyone in my way._

His gaze shifted from person to person as they mulled about, and his thoughts traveled back to Vale and, more importantly, Kohl with a robotic frown: the looks of shock and revulsion that were written on the faces of said towns' Freedom Fighters when he initially confronted them, as well as their following looks of terror as he beat each and every one of them to a bloody pulp, was burned into the back of his eyelids as the saying went, even though he knew all too well that said eyelids were absent. But what he remembered the most vividly of those two villages' destruction was a single Mobian: the last of Vale's living Freedom Fighters. The last words she managed to wheeze out while her neck was in his robotic grip rang through his head on a daily basis since then...

"Have you gone insane?" was her final words, and they shook him to the core; he remembered being so angry at those four words that the rest of the day was simply a blur to him – not to mention he didn't remember hearing her neck pop as his grip tightened the rest of the way, but that was minor details to him now. Now, however, they were ringing in his roboticized ears and inside his still organic mind once again, his glare narrowing further as the chorus of voices continued in his head.

_...But then again, what _is_ sanity?_ Alias proposed the question to himself, halting the reverberations almost instantly; _After all, one person's sanity is another's insanity: besides,_ he rationalized while shifting his gaze back and forth as if reading a book, _I haven't been able to think this clearly in ages! Not with all the distractions of family and such getting in the way._ This train of thought put a metallic and menacing grin back on his visage, and he let himself float down towards the small sanctuary village.

"Speaking of family..." he muttered once back on the ground, looking around at the huts that surrounded him, "I _know_ my Little Bro is somewhere around here." with a small sigh, he felt a small portion of Chaos energy flood into his robotic system and collect in his right hand – small being a _very_ relative term – and he pointed it at the nearest building in that direction; "Time to come out and play..." The collection of Chaos energy became a small yet potent ball of flames, and he shot it at the small hut he aimed for. Said building was reduced to a pile of wooden splinters as the sphere of fire entered through a window and exploded, causing the townsfolk who were outside to flee while five Mobians sprinted out one of the adjacent huts and confronted him: sure enough, there was his Little Bro at the head of the group.

Alias simply chuckled, then muttered "You are _too_ predictable" under his breath.

_**

* * *

The Frozen Chronicles  
Part 1, Chapter 10:  
Rumble in the Tropics**_

* * *

The three hedgehogs, wolf, and echidna stared at their nemesis, Frost and Shadow already well aware of his destructive power, while Squall, Gyro, and Tank had yet to see what had become of their surrogate brother and friend; suffice to say, Madeo's Freedom Fighters were shocked at the changes that the Alias they knew had undergone.

"I had a feeling that you'd be here, Little Bro," the mecha-hedgehog spoke in his synthesized voice, the red hedgehog in question glaring at him "and I'm not surprised that you're here, either." he let his gaze fall on the other three Freedom Fighters as he said this, then his robotic eyes shifted to the black and red hedgehog; _I thought I'd finished him off along with the rest of Kohl..._ he pondered for a very brief moment, resolving to fix that problem as soon as possible. Regardless of the "minor" setback of that black hedgehog's presence, he rushed his first target.

Gyro had no time to react to the punch thrown his way, and was hit squarely in the jaw and flailed through the air, impacting the wall of a nearby hut and creating a splintering crater with a sickening crack. While Squall sped over to the unconscious and injured wolf, Frost was the first to lash out in retaliation with an equally powerful fist aimed at Alias' side, but the nimble mecha-hedgehog dodged it while pressing the attack; he let out a flurry of claw swipes towards the younger brother who managed to barely block all of them, as well as dodge left and away from an incoming scissor kick. The red hedgehog kicked at his nemesis' lower back and connected, though the strike barely even dented the mecha-hedgehog's armor nor did it scuff the paint job.

Alias used the moment of shock to his advantage, grabbing the offending leg and swinging Frost around in the air before letting go, throwing a few bolts of fire in his direction for good measure; the younger sibling flew through the air, barely avoiding the fire bolts that seared through the air past him, yet still finding himself unable to avoid skidding along the ground. When he finally came to a stop, he rolled backward and stopped on his feet, then lunged forward at his opponent hoping to get a few punches in of his own.

* * *

Meanwhile, Squall was busy trying to get even a simple pulse from Gyro, and was failing rather miserably. _C'mon, just a pulse, that's all I'm asking for!_ He reasoned mentally as if his thoughts could reach the wolf in his dying state; he finally saw the small pool of blood forming behind the Mobian, the source being a rather large fragment of wood jammed into the back of his right side where the kidney should be, as well as the small trickle of the same fluid coming from the corner of his mouth. Squall's eyes moved back and forth rapidly, the world around him fading away to a blur as he realized that his surrogate brother was no longer alive...

Then the world around him sharpened: his vision (even through the few tears that had found their way down his face), the sounds of fighting, the slightly rusted taste of a dry mouth, the burning feeling in his gut that he knew was anger, _everything_; picking himself up quickly, he sprinted back to where they kept the Chaos Emerald and clutched the gem in his hand, with vengeance on the forefront of his mind.

* * *

Back amidst the ever-intensifying brawl, Frost found himself flailing through the air once again – this time thanks to a well placed kick to the jaw, then being grappled in the air and flung to the side like a misused toy – but was able to right himself in mid-air before three more bolts of flame came at him, though he had no real way to dodge around them. He was about to resign himself to becoming roast hedgehog when he spotted something flying at him from the right.

...A white gem?

_No time to think: just act,_ he thought to himself as his right hand grabbed the object and he felt the familiar pulse of Chaos energy coursing through every wire in his robotic arms and legs; he waved his free arm in front of him in a brisk swiping motion, summoning a thick wall of ice that absorbed the three fire bolts before shattering into a plethora of glass like shards. Grinning mischievously, he moved his arms back until they were extended to either side then moved them forward forcefully, watching the shards of ice collect themselves and speed towards their intended target. Alias moved out of the way as the ice fragments impacted the earth...

A blur of pale blue barreled into his side, followed by a gust of wind that pushed him further back as the blur of motion somersaulted over the mecha-hedgehog; the gust of air forced Alias right into Squall's intended landing spot, the pale blue and enraged hedgehog slamming both feet into his opponent's torso and head causing the mostly roboticized hedgehog to literally eat dirt as he skidded along the ground. Squall jumped away from his opponent after a few seconds, only for Frost to land close enough to kick at the older sibling's chest and knock him into the air for a change of pace, followed by a much larger lance of crystallized ice that impacted at his left side and dented the armor there.

Shadow, who had been watching the two other hedgehogs intently up until this point, decided to intervene; in a bright flash of light he was in the air as well, landing a solid kick to the mecha-hedgehog's exposed back as he flailed about in the air; Alias sped towards the ground much like a meteor, and was further sped up thanks to another impact from a bolt of pure chaos energy before hitting the cold earth, sending debris into the sky as well as a loud explosion-esque sound. Another flash of light later and the black and red hedgehog was standing next to Frost and Squall, both of whom were glaring at the figure in the crater.

Alias struggled to get up, the dent in his side showing a few exposed bits of wiring that sparked occasionally; _Dammit!_ He cursed while glaring back at the three hedgehogs that had beaten him this time, _I guess they win this round..._ and with that, he activated his booster jets and rocketed away from his first defeat. Squall started to give chase, but Shadow stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder and a single shake of his head, and the pale blue Freedom Fighter reluctantly obeyed. Frost looked over at his old friend in a concerned way.

"Is Gyro...?" his question trailed off, and Squall shook his head with a pained grimace. The red hedgehog's shoulders slumped heavily and he bit back the tears that would come about eventually, but he knew that this wasn't the time to mourn...not yet, anyways; "...At least we damaged his ego and sent him packing." he commented quietly, the other two hedgehogs nodding solemnly...

"Yo, dudes!"

The three hedgehogs peered into the crater and saw Tank standing in the center – how he had managed to get there in such short notice was, and always would be, a mystery to them – holding two objects in his arms; "Check out what I found, yeah?" the echidna spoke while holding both objects up for them to see, and Shadow allowed himself a smile of victory.

In Tank's grasp were two Chaos Emeralds, one a bright cyan and the other a vibrant green, both formerly in Alias' possession.

* * *

A/N - Well, they finally score a victory and come away with two Chaos Emeralds! *insert fanfare of choice here* Even if I had to kill off one of my own OCs... but it was for a reason, as you can see!  
Anyways, tell me what y'all think! :D


End file.
